Berliner Mauerweg - Berlin Wall Way - Between Former West Berlin and East Germany [DDR]

Following is a selection of photographs taken in stages along the corridor of the Berlin Wall that split apart East Berlin / East Germany and West Berlin 1961-1989. These images were mainly taken just before the 25th commemoration of the fall of the Wall [Mauerfall] . This long distance path is well signposted and also often has lines of setts in the ground marking the actual alignments.

The Wall was hastily thrown up by the East German authorities, supported by Soviet Russia, on the night of 13th August 1961. Firstly barbed wire fences were erected, surrounding the West German exclave of West Berlin, and these were almost immediately replaced by an actual wall which was then strengthened and fortified over the next years. 112 kilometres of the Wall separated West Berlin from the then Potsdam District of East Germany and a further 43 kilometres of Berlin Wall separated West Berlin from East Berlin .

It quickly became not just one concrete wall, but two walls. A parallel Hinterland Wall was built too and between the two walls a "Death Strip" was developed with barbed wire fences, sandy strips, dog runs, command / observation towers, bunkers, lamp posts, search lights, armed patrols, hard-surfaced military road, trip wires).

The Wall was declared in 1961 to be an "Anti-Fascist Barrier" to protect the Communist East from the Federal West but it was built in such a way that it was to forcefully, and often lethally, stop people in the East from moving to the West [East Germany was steadily losing its population through emigration to the more prosperous and less oppressive West Germany]. This Wall became a most obvious sight of the "Iron Curtain" and "Cold War" for 25 years.

The "Mauerfall" unexpectedly happened late evening on the 9th November 1989. Then many thousands of East Berliners flooded into West Berlin as gates were opened by border guards after a sudden television announcement was made by Gunter Schabowski, an East German politician, that the Wall was to be opened "immediately". The next day, gates in the Wall between East Germany and West Berlin were opened.

25 years later, Berlin still has much evidence of the infamous Berlin Wall with obvious physical scars remaining in some areas, new buildings erected where many stretches of the barrier stood, and many monuments built to preserve and often honour history.

This stretch begins at the former tri-point where East Berlin, East Germany and West Berlin met at the south-east edge of the city. The Wall Way largely runs E-W from the former crossing point on Waltersdorfer Chaussee, and along the rural-urban edge passing the residential suburbs of Rudow, Gropiusstadt, Buckow and Lichtenrade on the West Berlin side and the greener areas of Schoenefeld and Grossziethen on the old East German side.

There is still a distinct and marked contrast between the densely populated West Berlin side and the spacious acres in Potsdam District [now Brandenburg State] side. After the old checkpoint at Rudow the path heads westwards to the "Villages Viewpoint" [Doerferblick], a wooded hill built with WW2 rubble.

From the Villages Viewpoint the path heads northwards to the "green edge" at Gropiusstadt, an imposing suburb of tall skyscraper blocks. It passes across former sewage farm fields and also a big slag heap on the "DDR side" where West Berlin was allowed access to dump some of its rubbish.

At Gropiusstadt the Wall Way turns westwards, passing between the Berlin suburb of Buckow and the former East German village of Grossziethen which is now being redeveloped as a Garden City. It then reaches the old boundary area of Buckower Feldmark.

After Buckower Feldmark the Wall Way continues along the "Green Edge" of southern Berlin, looping south around the former village of Lichtenrade, now much developed with many local services.

This stretch mainly runs E-W between the former West Berlin suburbs of Marienfelde & Schoenow and the former East German countryside and town of Teltow. The Wall Way then follows the Teltow Canal before leaving it near Teltow town.

The first part of this section passes below the Marienfelde Leisure Park, now a grassy hill, 77 metres amsl, based on Berlin rubble from WW2. Again there is an obvious distinction from the densely populated Berlin side and the rural old East German side of the Wall Way.

The Wall Way turns south-westwards towards Teltow-Seehof where birch trees lining the path are replaced by flowering cherry trees, planted with Japanese aid.

At Seehof is a memorial stone to the celebrated Cherry Avenue which now heads SE-NW towards the Teltow Canal. Lichterfelde South is the former West Berlin residential suburb alongside the avenue while less densely populated Teltow lies on the old East German side.

Beyond the north end of the Cherry Avenue the Wall Way reaches the Teltow Canal where it turns westwards to Teltow town. Zehlendorf-Schoenow is the Berlin suburb on the north bank of the canal which connects the Havel and Spree rivers.

The Wall Way follows the canal and both barges and leisure craft can be seen. Historic Teltow on the old East German side [today Brandenburg State] is worth a detour.

The final canal section passes a collection point for old Berlin Wall remnants before the Wall Way heads northwards, away from the Teltow Canal, at the remains of the former Sachtlebenstrasse Bridge.

This stretch continues E-W following the Berlin Wall Way along the State boundary with Berlin-Zehlendorf to the north and with Kleinmachnow and Potsdam-Babelsberg to the south. The boundary alignment leaves the land and then progresses along the Griebnitz Lake [Griebnitzsee] to reach the River Havel at the famous "spy bridge", Glienicke Bridge.

From the Teltow Canal at the end of Sachtlebenstrasse, the Wall Way passes S-N through the Buschgraben nature reserve to reach the small lake Buschgrabensee where it turns E-W. On both sides the path passes through residential districts.

Now the Wall Way passes the upmarket suburb of Zehlendorf on its northern side [with points of interest including the Duppel Open Air Archaeological Museum and the Woodland Cemetery where many famous Berliners have been buried since 1945, notably Willi Brandt] and the growing small town of Kleinmachnow on its southern side. The alignment parallels the historic Koenigsweg [lit. Kings Way] which connected Berlin with Potsdam.

The route continues along the old Kings Way to reach the motorway at Dreilinden. Here was Check Point Bravo, the former crossing point between East Germany and West Berlin, infamous for lengthy queues. Many buildings from this period still remain.

Further, the Berlin Way enters more woodland noted for the 1930s remains of motorways which were used then for races along the AVUS racetrack. Also nearby are former railway lines which once served cemetery traffic.

Then the Wall Way returns to the Teltow Canal which it follows till it comes to the old West Berlin exclave of Steinstucken which jutted through a road into the edge of Potsdam close to the site of the famous Babelsberg film studios.

The penultimate stretch now follows Griebnitz Lake and Canal to reach Glienicke Bridge. Before the fall of the wall, life was "normal" on the West Berlin side but waterside access on the East German side was prohibited - the wall and watch towers stood here. Notable on the southern side of Griebnitz Lake today are the villas which were homes to the Allied leaders during the Potsdam Conference at the end of WW2 and a campus of Potsdam University. The northern side is a pleasant woodland walk.

The last stretch of this stage passes the East German exclave of Kleinglienicke and many spectacular sites and buildings, many related to the Imperial period [Kaiserzeit] - Babelsberg and Glienicke Palaces, hunting lodges, royal parkland. It ends at Glienicke Bridge, now reconstructed but remembered for several exchanges of spies during the Cold War.

From Glienicke Bridge, crossed by the Bundesstrasse 1 [=A1], the alignment of the Berlin Wall Way turns northwards. To the west is Potsdam, now the state capital of Brandenburg, and to the east is Berlin's upmarket district of Wannsee. The state boundary follows the River Havel upstream to Kladow on the west shore. From here the Wall Way heads inland through Gross Glienicke and passes through the western suburbs of Berlin-Spandau at Staaken.

At Glienicke Bridge there is much of interest on both banks of the river. There is a good path on the east bank, passing the Volkspark Klein-Glienicke, Moorlake Inn on its wooded bay and Peacock Island [Pfaueninsel] where the Wall Way leaves the Havel on the north shore by Kladow. Along the western [former East Germany] riverbank are upmarket suburbs of Potsdam, former royal palaces like Schloss Cecilienhof [where the Potsdam Conference convened at the end of WW2] and Schloss Sacrow , and the refurbished Church of the Redeemer [Heilandskirche], built for King Friedrich Wilhelm IV. Access to the fortified East German bank was denied during the Cold War - except to DDR border troops.

At Kladow the path leaves the Havel and heads northwards through woodland to reach Gross Glienicke, a Potsdam suburb which is now undergoing upmarket residential development. The state boundary passes through Gross Glienicke Lake but the Wall Way mostly follows the western shore [access currently denied in some areas - 2014]. To the east are Kladow and Gatow, Berlin suburbs, and the former airfield of RAF Gatow which is now the German Air Force Museum. Gatow in particular has much new housing development in Landstadt Gatow. At the north end of the lake are scattered wall remnants and the historic manor, Gut Gross Glienicke.

Reaching the Potsdamer Chaussee, the Wall Way turns NE alongside this long and straight road to the southern suburbs of Spandau at Wilhelmstadt. It crosses an agricultural and flat landscape with much of interest. To the west [former East Germany] is the village of Seeburg while to the east [former West Berlin] is a patchwork of fields and ditches - former sewage farmland [Rieselfelder].

At the southern edge of Spandau, the Wall Way turns sharply to the north-west towards the bare hill at Hahneberg. Here there is a modern observatory and a historic fort built to defend Berlin from the French and finished in 1888. The former East German side is still very rural while the former West Berlin side is densely inhabited with much new housing in Staaken.

The Wall Way turns northwards at Hahneberg to reach the old East Germany / West Berlin control point on Heerstrasse at Spandau-Staaken. There are monuments, notice boards and signs here which relate some of the border crossing history; also an old border check point building remains.

The Way continues northwards into Staaken, passing the refurbished Old Staaken Church, Staaken Garden City [Gartenstadt Staaken] and Spekte Lake, to reach the next main road, Falkenseer Chaussee. Several monuments and relics of the Wall still stand along the way. The current Berlin-Brandenburg state boundary now stands west of the Wall Way as Berlin has expanded with even more housing being built in Staaken.

This stretch soon leaves behind the houses of Spandau and enters a little populated and very rural area as it curls around the north-west corner of Berlin. The Wall Way then follows the Havel northwards to the industrial town of Hennigsdorf before then heading eastwards, through much woodland, to the northern Berlin suburb of Frohnau.

From Spandau-Falkenhagen the Berlin Wall Way passes Falkenhoeh Garden City (former East Germany) and the City Edge Suburb of Spandau (former West Berlin). It then enters the countryside at Eiskeller [Berlin's coldest spot in winter] where there was a guarded West Berlin exclave. Here it turns eastwards, paralleling the former Nieder Neuendorf Canal to Schoenwalde. Wide sandy stretches within the woodland are obvious reminders of the Berlin Wall alignment.

The Berlin Wall Way passes the small lake of Lasszinssee and also several memorials along the route. At the lake the Wall Way leaves the Nieder Neuendorf Canal at Stone Bridge [Steinerne Bruecke] and goes through the dense Spandau Forest for some 4 kilometres before reaching the River Havel at Papenberge and Erlengrund, two former exclaves of West Berlin which were used by allotment gardeners.

Following the west bank of the Havel, the Wall Way now heads northwards, passing the remaining Nieder Neuendorf Border Tower [now a museum] on the riverside and the new upmarket housing development of Havel Promenade before crossing the Havel Canal. Canal barges were controlled at a border check point where the canal and river met.

Across the Havel Canal, the Wall Way now follows the Oder-Havel Waterway. This canal was built so Eastern bloc barges did not have to pass through West Berlin. The path also passes the large railway construction works [Bombardier] in the engineering town of Hennigsdorf which has undergone much redevelopment since 1945.

The Berlin Wall Way crosses the Havel at Hennigsdorf the heads south-eastwards along the Ruppiner Chaussee to South Stolpe [Stolpe-Sued], another modern housing development. From here it goes eastwards, over Motorway 111 [note the Berlin bear statue below], and through woodland to reach the edge of Frohnau. The wide sandy strip still exists through the dense Tegel Forest and this path section is well used by both cyclists and walkers.

This final section of the Berlin Wall Way between the former East Germany and West Berlin lies along the far northern edges of Berlin. It curls around the suburb of Frohnau [once within the French Zone of West Berlin] then heads east to Luebars, still a village within the administrative area of the capital city.

The path continues northwards in a rural environment. On its western side [former East Germany] is part of Tegel Forest and Stolpe Heath while on its eastern side [former West Berlin] is upmarket Frohnau. It follows fairly close to the edge of the houses so is still popular with cyclists and walkers.

The Wall Way goes on, between Stolpe Heath Golf Course and the historic "Invalids Estate" [Invalidensiedlung] which was originally founded by Frederick II in central Berlin for wounded soldiers. Here the path turns sharp right [eastwards] with the old village of Stolpe and the modern housing of the Osram Estate in Hohen Neuendorf on the former East German side.

The route crosses the main road of Oranienburger Chaussee and enters forest but the old "death strip" remains easily visible in the form of a sandy, wide path through the dense woodland. Notable is an old East German watch tower which is now used by a youth club [Deutsche Waldjugend].

Beyond this historic tower is idyllic Hubertus Lake where the Wall Way turns southwards. The ground plan of an intended garden city can yet be seen in the woods here in the form of cobbled roadways. The Way carries on over the woody heathland of Bieselheide before plunging back into a residential area where Frohnau and Glienicke/Nordbahn meet.

The Wall Way rejoins busy Oranienburger Chaussee for 1 kilometre before turning sharply westwards to encompass one street, Am Sandkrug, where monuments remain. The boundary alignment forms a narrow finger on the map adjoining an oval form, hence its nickname of "Duck's Bill" [Entenschnabel].

The route leaves Oranienburger Strasse by Veltheimstrasse and goes eastwards, between Glienicke/Nordbahn [former East Germany] and Hermsdorf [former West Berlin]. After a kilometre it reaches the small river of Tegeler Fliess which it follows upstream to the picturesque village of Luebars, still a favourite excursion goal for many Berliners. Historic Luebars is within the city boundary but retains its country air with an old village green and church. Beyond Luebars the Wall Way soon reaches the tri-point where East Berlin, East Germany and West Berlin once met.